The Malecon runs from Olas Altas in the south almost all the way to the Marina at the north end of the Zona Dorada — about 21 kilometres of paved promenade fronting the open Pacific. It is one of the longest seafront walks in Latin America. Joggers and cyclists own it before nine in the morning; from late afternoon the families come out, with paleta carts and corn vendors lining the rail.
The sculptures along the route are part of the experience: the Continuity of Life monument near Playa Norte (a dolphin family in bronze), the Pacific Mermaid, the Monumento al Pescador (a male nude fisherman that has caused decades of awkwardness with the city's more conservative residents). At dusk the whole strip turns into a viewing gallery for the sunset over the Pacific — there is almost always something worth watching, and there is almost always a beer vendor a few metres away.